Y'all… I am so sorry lmaoo. I started school recently and I go one of the most prestigious, competitive high schools in my country (and I take all honors classes) so all the homework I've been getting has been kicking my ass. I have little to no free time, but I have a 3 day weekend! :) Thanks so much for the continuous love since I've been gone.

Kogome's P.O.V.

I stood about 500 feet from a wooden board, readying an arrow. One of the tribe members convinced me to switch to a long bow. It was harder to get an accurate shot and the drawback time was most definitely slower, but the feeling of power it gave me was incredible. I had gotten really good at rapid firing… The blisters on my hands were most definitely worth it. I readied another arrow, staggering them on the drawstring before releasing. Both of them landed on the red 'x' painted in the middle of the board. I continued to rapid fire arrows, most of them landing directly on the x or close to it. I was trying to beat my record of 3 arrows in 5 seconds.

"Wow, sis, you're one hell of a good shot!" I heard Ginta say. Wasn't he and Hakkaku out hunting with Koga?

I looked up at Koga, Ginta, and Hakkaku as they strode into the den. Koga carried a gigantic, dead boar on his shoulder. I glanced at his injured forearm. It looked better than when he first got the wound, but it still looked terrible. And painful. Ouch. I wanted to wrap it up for him in bandages, but he was too prideful to let me. He said it was just a scratch, but does a 'scratch' turn purple like that?

"We're back, sis! Sorry to keep ya' waitin'," Hakkaku said, smiling at me. Koga dropped the boar, and it surely was heavy. The corpse landed with a deep thud, the sound resonating around the cave.

I laughed nervously, shaking my head a little. "No, I wasn't waiting! You're fine, really." I lowered my bow, putting it down. As if on cue, I felt my hands being held by Koga's large, rough ones. He held my hands tenderly and looked into my eyes.

"I don't know how you do it all, Kagome. Thank you so much for looking after the den while I was away. You're amazing." I smiled at him, a blush creeping up onto my face. He did things like this all of the time, but it was getting to me. "I appreciate your help so much." My heart leaped at that statement, thinking about Inuyasha. He had never told me that he had appreciated the things I did. Actually, he often told me that I didn't do enough and that I was useless…

But that's no longer a part of my life anymore. No more being underappreciated. "It's nothing, honestly. I don't mind." Being under his steady, loving gaze made me a bit squeamish. As he looked into my eyes, I could tell he was searching for something. His pretty pale blue eyes invaded mine, looking for something—anything—but I don't think he found what he was looking for. He smiled, a relieved look on his face.

He reluctantly let go of my hands. "I'm glad to hear that, Kagome." I could tell that something was on his mind. "Tomorrow, we'll set out and start searching for jewel shards, is that okay with you?" Was it okay? Of course it was! I missed the constant change of scenery and the lore! The action… Not so much.

I nodded eagerly, seeing the happiness in his expression.

"You're such an incredible woman." He said, openly admiring me. Was there anything to admire? There wasn't much special about me, honestly. Before I could be humble and protest, he gave a charming smile. "I'm going to go clean up." I was able to study his handsome face for a few more nanoseconds before he turned away, going to the hot springs to wash the blood off of his body. I watched the muscles in his back move as he got farther and farther away from us. Once he was gone, I heard Ginta and Hakkaku laughing.

Curiously, I looked at them after snapping out of my love-struck daze. "What's so funny? I wanna laugh, too!"

"You were totally giving Koga the goo-goo eyes, sis!" Hakkaku exclaimed, doubling over as he laughed. Was I?... Was my attraction to Koga that obvious?

Childishly, I scowled at them. "I was not giving Koga the goo-goo eyes!" I stuck my tongue out at them before looking down and blushing, somewhat timidly. I heard their laughter increase tenfold. I'm pretty sure my face looked like a tomato. "Hmph!" I dropped my bow, storming out of the cave.

After dinner, it was still light outside, so I had gone out to collect herbs. Even though I took my bow and a quiver full of arrows, Koga made Ginta and Hakkaku come with me. He was looking out for me, and I was glad for it.

The two friends watched me pick herbs and inspect them, both with spears in their hands.

"You're so good at this, sis." Ginta said, watching me place an herb into the already full basket. I stood up with it in my hands and my bow and quiver on my shoulder.

"It's not that hard, really," I smiled at them, beginning to make my way back to the den, both of them close behind. Once we got there, I noticed Koga leaning against the wall. His face contorted in pain as he propped his injured forearm up on his knee. He looked up at us, his pained expression fading away.

I set down the basket and hurried over to him before kneeling down. He looked like he wanted to protest, but I held his forearm and began to examine the wound before he could say anything.

"Koga…" My eyebrows knotted in concern. It looked way worse up close.

"You don't need to worry your pretty little head over me, Kagome. I'm fine." He gently took his arm away from me and I wanted to force him to let me wrap it up. I sighed in defeat.

"If you say so…" I thought a bit, lowering my gaze before looking up at him again. "I'm going to go take a bath, is that okay?"

He nodded. I stood up, turning to make my way deeper into the cave. He got up, too, which confused me. "I'm going to stand watch. I don't want anything to happen to you." He was so sweet. We made our way back towards the hot spring. He leaned against the wall of the den, closing his eyes with his head bowed and his muscular arms crossed against his broad chest.

Such a gentleman. I was kinda amused at the fact that he didn't want to watch me undress.

I—

Um, not that I wanted him to.

I placed my lighter kimono on the side of the spring so I could change into them when I'm done. I took off my miko traditional robes as fast as I could—I didn't want anyone to see my goodies. After I was completely naked, I got into the hot spring, sitting down and sighing in relief. The hot water immediately soothed all the aches and pains in my body. I relaxed, letting the water caress my body.

After a few more minutes, I heard something rustling. It feel eerie. I glanced around, seeing something move in the corner of my eye. Instinctively, I screamed and stood up, coming face to face with a monkey that was going through my clothes. I threw a rock at it, blushing in embarrassment. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Kagome are you okay?!" Koga came face to face with me, and the first thing he saw was me.

Standing there.

Completely naked.

"S-Sorry," He muttered, looking away.

I blushed heavily before immediately submerging my nude body back into the water. "I-I'm fine…" The scandalous little monkey scurried away.

A few minutes later, I got out and put my kimono on and washed my miko robes before hanging them on a rope to dry. Before returning to my room to get a good night's sleep, I stopped by Koga's to bid him a goodnight. I peeked my head in behind the curtain, only to find him already fast asleep in preparation for tomorrow's journey.

I wonder if he's dreaming of me….

We got a bath scene! ;) Expect some action next chapter. (No, not that kind of action you pervert)

Thank you such much for all the reviews! The love and support really do motivate me.

See you next time, - EmiAni.

Sorry for the grammar mistakes, I'm really sleepy.